It’s no secret that I had cosmetic surgery over the Christmas holidays. I look significantly younger, so it’s hard to hide the change….and who wants to anyway?

I didn’t tell my son and his family prior to the surgery. I had scheduled it seven months earlier and didn’t want them to worry about the surgery or my recovery. So when he and my four-year-old granddaughter showed up at the house on the second day after the procedure, my husband poked his head in the door of our bedroom. “Darth Vader and Breezy  (not their real names) are here. Breezy wants to come in to see you.”  “Let her come in,” I said.

The door opened up wider, but I couldn’t see her head. She’s a tiny thing.  But, I started preparing her for what she was going to see. My head wasn’t still the size of a  large pumpkin as it had been when I first left the doctor’s office, but the swelling was considerable. My eyes were almost swollen shut and were black and blue. My face was shedding layers of skin and was a dark purple color. I had bandages wrapping my head.

As she climbed up on the bed I was saying, “Don’t be scared; Gigi is going to be fine.” She took one look at me and said in a raspy, deep voice, “well, you still talk the same!” She picked up my tablet and started searching for a game to play.  And that was it!

Two weeks later she stared at me and said, “You’re getting better.”  For a long time those were her only comments.  Then, the other day she was paging through pictures on my tablet. She came across the before and recovery pictures.  She inquired, “Gigi, remember when you were old?”

My heart smiled.  Why, yes, I do remember when I was old!  Actually, I have never felt old.  I still feel like I’m in my late twenties, early thirties.  I just looked old!   You know you’ve done something good for yourself when even a four-year-old notices.

Over the past few years I had just come to feel old when I looked in the mirror.  I became increasingly disappointed at the way I looked when I stared at my reflection. I began to tell my friends that I resembled the guy on the twenty dollar bill (Andrew Jackson). That’s not the me that I feel inside, I would say to myself.  And so I did something about it.  Yea!  I do indeed feel younger, and perhaps my little granddaughter can feel the difference in me too.

Not everyone wants or needs to have a face lift.  But, maybe you have always wanted a tattoo and getting one will make you feel younger, or like what you see in the mirror a little bit more!  Maybe you want to change your style of clothing, or get a dramatic hair cut or color.  I encourage you to do it!  Or maybe you just want to be a bit thinner.  I get it! I lived almost my entire 40’s overweight and I told myself that I wasn’t going to live my 50’s in the same condition, and so I lost 25 lbs. in 2010.

Take charge of your aging self whether you are 20-something, 50-something or 80-something.  Be the best YOU that YOU can be.

I promise if you’ll do something positive for your aging self, you’ll be happier and therefore healthier; and you can live positively in the moment.  Best wishes on your change!  I’d love to hear about your plans, your progress and the end result.

I also invite you to follow my blog.  I would really enjoy having you along on this journey with me.